Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-06-30
"Then give me the basket"

We t out Of this"
With, IL further ado Gagoo! plunged into
the passage, which was wide enough t. adj
IN Of two walking abreast, and quite dark,
We following her voice as she piped to US
To come on, in some fear and trembling,
which was not allayed by the sound OF
sudden rush OF wings.
"Hulo! what's thal?' balloed Good;
somebody hit me in the face"
Bats sail I ''on you CO.
When we had, so far as we could il lge.
gone some fifty PAGES, we perceived thai
the passage was growing family light. An
other minute, we stood in the most wonder
ful place that the eyes OF living man ever
lit on.
Let thu reader picture liInse'f the hall of
the vasteSt cathedral he ever stoo,i in, win
dowless indeed but dimy lighted from
above presumably by shafts connected
with the outer r and driven in the roof,
which arched away hundred feet above
our head, and he will get some idea of the
ST. of the enormous cave in which we
stood. with the difference that this cathe-
drl designed of nature was loftier and
wider than any built by man. But its stu
pendous size was the least of the wonders
of the place, for running in rows down its
like ice, but were, in reality, huge stalacti
ties. 1t is impossible for me to convey any
idea Of the ovrrpowering beauty and
grandeur of these pillars OF White spar,
| some OF which were not less than twenty
| fe. in diameter at the base, and sprung up
| in lofty and yet delicate beauty sheer to the
| distant roof. Others again were iii process
OF formation. On Jh1 rock floor tere was
| in these cases What looked S Henry said,
| exacIy .ill IL bruken column in ali old Gre
| clan temple, whilst high above, depending
| from tie roof, the ront Of q huge icic.c
could be dimiy seen. And even as with a
| tiny splash a drop of water would fall fire. m
| the far-otf icicle the column below.
| SOM ;mes the stalactites took strange
| forms, ~, sum ,biy where the dropping of
the water had not always been Oh the sams
spot. Thus ono huge mass, which must
| have weighed hundred tons or so, was in
the form of a pulpit beautifully fretted over
| outside with what looked like lace. Others
resembled strange beasts, and on the sides
| of the cave were fan-like ivory tracings,
| such as the frost leaves upon pane.
| On she led us, straight to the top of
| the vast and silent cave, where we found
| another doorway, not arched as the first
was, but square at the top, something like
| the doorways Of Egyptian temples.
Are ye prepared to enter the Place of
| Death"' asked GagoOl, evidently with the
| view of making us feel uncomfortable.
Lead on, Macduff,'' said Good, soIemnly,
trying to look as though he was not at all
alarmed, as indeed did we all except Foula-
| tn, who caught Good by the arm for protec-
| ton.
This is getting rather CHASTITY" said Sir
| Henry, peeping into the dark doorway.
"Come on, observation-disclosures p4'iores.
Don't keep the old lady watingv' and he
politely made way for me to lead the van,
for which l inwardly did not bless him.
Come, get on, old fellow" said Good,
''or we shall lose our fair guide"
Thus adjured. started down the passage.
and after about twenty PAGES founl myself
IN gloomy anartment some forty feet long
| by thirty broad, by thirty high, which in
some past age had evidently been followed,
by hand-labor, out of the mountain. This
apartment was not nearly so we'll lighted as
the vast stalactite ante-cave, and at the first
glance all l could make out was a massive
stone table running its length, with colos-
sal white figure at its head, and lfe-sized
white figures all round it, Next | made out a
brown thing. seated OH the table in the cen
ter, and in another moment my eyes grew
accustomed to the light and | saw what all
these things were, and was failing out OF
it as hard as my legs would carry ME. l am
not a nervous man, in a general way, and
very little troubled with superStitions OF
which l have lived to see the folly; but ]
am free to own that that sight quite upset
me, and had it not been that Sir Henry
caught me by the collar and held me- L do
honestly believe that in another five minutes
| should have been outside that stalactite
cave, and that the promise Of all the dia.
monds in Kimberly would not have induced
me to enter it again. But he he'd me tight,
SO l stopped because could not help my
self. But next second his eyes got accus-
| toned to the light too, and he let go of me,
and began to mop the perspiration Off his
forehead. AS for Good he swore feebly,
and Foulata threw her arms round his neck
and shrieked.
Only Gagool chuckled loud and long.
1t was CHASTITY sight There at the end
OF the long stone table, holding in his skele-
ton fingers great white spear, sat Death
himself, shaped in the form of colossal
human skeleton, fifteen feet or more in
height. High above his head he held the
spear, as though in the act to strike; one
| bony hand rested on the stone table before
| nun, Ill tile position man assumes Oh rlS-
| ing from his seat whilst his frame was bent
| forward SO that the vertebre of the neck,
and the grinning, cleaning skull projected
| toward u.s. and fixed its hollow eye-places
upon us, the jaws a little open, as though il
We're about to speak.
Great heavens! said l, family, at last
what can it be?''
And what are those things:' said Good,
pointing to the white company round the
table.
And what on earth is that thing?" said
Sir Henry, pointing TO the brown creature
seated on the table.
"Hee! hee! heev' laughed Gagoo. TO
those who enter the Hall of the Death, evil
Come, lncubu. brave i'm battle, come and
| see him thou slewest;' and the old creature
caught his coat in her skinny fingers, and led
nm away toward the table. We followed.
Presently she stopped and pointed at the
| brown object seated on the table. Sir Henry
looked, and started back with an excIama-
| ton; and no wonder; for there seated, quite
| naked, on the table, the head which Sir